Vehicle doors comprising a latch mechanism and a corresponding actuator are known in the art. A latch mechanism disposed in the wing of the vehicle door is mechanically linked to a latch-releasing member, such as a door handle. A user-initiated movement of a door handle is coupled to the latch mechanism in order to mutually release the latch member and the latch mechanism, which allows the side door wing to be opened. For instance, the latch mechanism, which is disposed in the door wing, comprises a detent, which engages with a latch member, being disposed at the door frame and which may comprise an anchor-, bolt- or -pin-like geometry.
A coupling between the latch mechanism and the actuator, in particular for unlatching of the latch mechanism usually takes the form of a pull or push rod. However, in a crash situation, this particular rod may become subject to deformation, which may lead to an unintentional unlatching of the latch mechanism and release of the latch member, thus leading to an inadvertent opening of the vehicle side door.
Furthermore, during a vehicle crash the actuator itself may become subject to a displacement, which may lead to an unlatching motion of that portion of the rod being coupled to the latch mechanism. Further, in a crash situation, the actuator, for instance a handle bar itself may become subject to an unlatching motion, which might be due to local deformations of the side door structure in the vicinity of the handle.
For instance, GB 1 442 394 discloses a vehicle door having a latch assembly and a locking member, which is movable to a locking position such that subsequent movement of an unlatching member is not transmitted to a detent of the latch assembly. Further, there is provided a latch releasing actuator being connected to the unlatching member by means of an unlatching or latch-releasing rod. A further rod is arranged close to the unlatching rod and extends in substantially the same direction. The two rods are arranged in such a manner, that in the event of lateral distortion of the further rod, the resultant tensile force exerted by the further rod on said component of the latch assembly is sufficient to ensure, that the locking member is moved into that locking position. However, such an assembly is rather elaborate and complex and made not sufficiently assert, that the latch mechanism remains locked upon a side impact. Furthermore, an unlatching rod interconnecting a latch-releasing actuator, such as a door handle and a latch mechanism could potentially be deformed during a crash event.
The present invention therefore aims to provide a vehicle side door assembly having a reduced propensity to open inadvertently in case of a crash situation. It is a further aim of the present invention that the functional members of a side door assembly become adapted to respond to crash-induced deformations in such a way, that the potential for an inadvertent latch-releasing or side door opening can be minimized. Furthermore, other aims, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.